Use good, plain fabrics.

Fabric
from top: 'Treviso' (14), £135 for a metre; 'Hampton Stripe'
(amber), £99 for a metre; 'Brittany Glazed Linen' (navy), £100 per
metre; all from Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam

Don't beoverly
influenced by other people.

Especially those who are considered
authorities. When I was new to interior design, I was told 'yellow
should not be brought into the house' and this affected me until I
realised that I like yellow, it's beautiful.